Propolis Tincture

[Albus Culter]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd share

I managed to land some propolis from the very nice chap that is British Red and his hard working bee's

I have to say I had to research what propolis was and what to do with it. Give it a google its interesting stuff - bees are truly a wonder.

Well a common option is tincture. So I looked up how to make this and decided to use half of it for this. The other half I would like to have a go at a Salve for my first aid kit.

Here's the ingredients

The propolis, some grain alcohol and that's it. The idea is to soak the propolis in a high proof grain alcohol to extract all the botanicals. The higher the proof the better this works. But as I'm adding this to drinks to consume it it needs to be drinkable

The propolis was chopped up to help maximise the contact area. Stuffed in a bottle, Alcohol added, It now needs to sit in a dark warm place and be shaken a few times a day to help the process along.

Lets see how it all goes once its had a few weeks.

And a big thanks to British Red as the inspiration to learne a new bit of knowledge

 

[British Red]

Interesting stuff Albus - I'll be interested to hear how you get on with the tincture.

If you ever need very high proof spirit (90%+), shoot me a PM

Red

 

[Albus Culter]

Interesting stuff Albus - I'll be interested to hear how you get on with the tincture.

If you ever need very high proof spirit (90%+), shoot me a PM

Red

I did look for higher but it either gets nasty commercial stuff or highly pricey. So 80% proof was best I could get off the shelf easy.
If I try it again I will give you a heads up for both parts
I did read that freezing the propolis then smashing it up works. But I was impatient so I stuck with chopping. May take longer but will get there?

The other half now needs a bit more thought to sort a salve

 

[British Red]

It'll work - as you say it just has a bit lower concentration of solvent. You need to hang around with the Polish guys for strong stuff (160 proof)

 

[Man of Tanith]

Looks good Martin.
I've a recipe for a propolis medicinal whisky liquor somewhere I'll dig it out for weekend
Is that badger hand balm in the back ground?

160% proof? Or just circumstantial evidence?

 

[British Red]

160% proof? Or just circumstantial evidence?

Taxi for Sam!

Its out there mate, spendy to buy commercially though

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p-9042.aspx

Just never, ever try it neat - its horribly dangerous!

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

I dont know if it works with propolis but when making chaga tincture you do a double extraction. First soak in high proof vodka then boil to extract again. when the boil is complete its added to the high proof tincture to reduce the potency.

ive not done my chaga one yet but when i get round to it i plan on using this

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-7233.aspx

 

[Man of Tanith]

Taxi for Sam!

Its out there mate, spendy to buy commercially though

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p-9042.aspx

Just never, ever try it neat - its horribly dangerous!

Sounds like wray and nephew's rum....evil evil stuff

 

[Huon]

Sounds like wray and nephew's rum....evil evil stuff

I think it makes Wray and Nephews look like Ribena

 

[Albus Culter]

Wows. That's some strong stuff. Both of the ones listed. I did find a high one similar to that but again a lot of money.

I have a 60% single barrel malt and I thought that was high

 

[British Red]

Be a waste of malt too!

Is it changing colour yet Albus?

 

[Albus Culter]

I stuck it in the airing cupboard as I though the warmth would aid the process. Not checked it yet this evening, but will give it a shake before bed.

I read somewhere about using a small piece of propolis placed in the corner of the mouth used raw for sore throats, etc. Had a little try of that too. After a while it sticks to your palet and sits there feeling tingly for a bit. It lasts a long while. Handy stuff.

No way was I using the malt for this that has medicinal use all of its own - stress relief

 

[Skaukraft]

My grandfather used propolis as a kind of chewing gum during the winter months to keep the cold and sore throat away.
He also said that he had to get a handfull of bee stings in the spring before the winter stiffnes in his body would go away. And I read something about the poison in the bees are used to make some medicine/painkiller for arthritis, so I guess he was on to something.

Looking foreward to see the result of your efforts.

BTW: At the bottom of this thread I posted my attempt at chaga tinkture: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110231

 

[Big Stu 12]

Interesting stuf Martin, thank you... will ahve to ask a old mate about any he may have spare from his hives

 

[Albus Culter]

Had a little read on Chaga. Another interesting one. Especially the use of both water and alcohol extraction and combining the two.
Will keep my eyes out for that one. Cheers

 

[MrHare]

Amazing stuff propolis - Stradivarius used in in his varnishes:

http://www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de/medias/sys_master/810012_01_M_WE_D_en.pdf

 

[Albus Culter]

Gave it a shack this morning. So it's only had less than a day. We are currently yellow (think saffron in a glass of water)

Not sure actually how dark it's meant to go, but will find out eventually

 

[Skaukraft]

How's the tinkture going?

 

[British Red]

Good question - would be great to see a picture